Homemade Banana Chocolate Jam

I never thought I would ever attempt to make my own jam. There is never a need since I could get ready-made ones easily and there has never been an occasion where I have abundance of fruits in my kitchen. I did tried to make some kaya jam sometime back, after seeing how other foodies have success in making their own. Mine didn't turn out as expected, in fact, it was a total flop. Ever since then, I have put off the idea of making any jam of any sorts. Furthermore, I always thought that making your own jam would be a very tedious task to accomplish, and when it comes to choosing the type of jam to make, I couldn't think further than the usual jams made with berries. My perceptions of homemade jam changed after I pick up this little cookbook.

Written by the owner of this Japanese confectionery, the author has included many fascinating jam recipes in her book. Besides apples, oranges and apricots, there are also recipes using fruits such as rhubarb, pumpkins, kiwi fruits, lychee and even bananas. The recipes do not require the use of any pectin sugar to help the jams to set. I guess it's the clever pairing of fruits that makes this possible. The book has convinced me that the steps involved in jam making are really not that difficult. I particularly like the small amount of ingredients required for each recipe, yielding small portions of finished jams, the amount is just right for our small family as I wouldn't want to make jars and jars of jams that would last me for years.


This first recipe I tried was this this jar of Banana & Chocolate jam. The ingredients are easily available and I really love the idea of having both my favourites from the same jar. The whole process didn't take me longer than half an hour as the cooking time was indeed very short. I followed the tips given by my friend VB to go about sterilising my recycled jam jars. It is pretty much similar to the steps outlined here.

The finished jam tasted yumilious! I've used dark chocolates with a 64% cocoa content, but I do find it just a tiny bit on the sweet side, especially whenever I slurped up one spoonful of it ;) I won't complain too much as I believe, or rather, I would want to make myself believe that most of the sweetness comes from the tiny bits of bananas. The jam works really well on slices of toast bread, I bet it would taste fabulous with crackers, as toppings for pancakes or crepes. I might even swirl some into muffins batters, but I really doubt I would have any left for that.


Ingredients:
(yields 380ml of jam)

300g bananas (about 3 large very riped ones)
80g dark chocolate (coarsely chopped)
20ml rum (optional)
100ml water (room temperature)
210g caster sugar*

Method:

1. Thinly slice banana, about 1mm thickness.
2. Place sliced bananas in a bowl, add water and caster sugar. Mix well. Transfer to a pot or a large saucepan.
3. On medium heat, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (where the bubbles do not stop or lessen when you stir it). Once the mixture starts to boil, skim away any excessive foams or bubbles, stirring constantly all the time.
4. Keep at a rolling boil for another 2 ~ 3 mins, stirring constantly till the mixture becomes clearer and brighter.
5. Add in dark chocolates, mix well and bring it back to boil. Remove from heat immediately, stir in rum if using. The jam will be a little runny when hot but the consistency will be just right after it has cool off.
6. Ladle hot jam into hot sterilised jars leaving a gap of about 1~2cm from the top. (Since I do not have an appropriate ladle or funnel, I poured the jam into my measuring cup before filling the jars. The sprout on the cup helps easy and clean filling.) Secure lids. Let cool. Jam will keep up to 3 months if stored in fridge or in a cool, dark cupboard. Once opened, store in fridge and best consumed within 1 week.
   
   Recipe source: adapted from 鲜美果酱轻松做! by Romi Igarashi

Note: *Do not reduce the sugar, as the amount is required to preserve the jam.